We encourage you to attend an important Community Board meeting next Tuesday, February 19th at 6:30 pm at 353 West 30th Street (8th/9th) in the Community Room. The meeting will address two important topics:

The latest on a possible rezoning which would affect development and preservation in a broad swath of West Chelsea and the Upper Meatpacking District.

The City Council agreement allowing Jamestown Properties to add two huge additions atop Chelsea Market in exchange for community givebacks, and issues raised by GVSHP and fellow community groups about the lack of enforceability of these community benefit provisions (read the letter HERE).

It is important that you attend to find out more about the possible rezoning — last month’s meeting was encouraging, but we are early in the process and depending upon the actions of City Planning and the Community Board, a potential rezoning could help preserve the character of these neighborhoods, or promote more out-of-scale overdevelopment.

It’s also VERY IMPORTANT that you participate in the conversation about the Chelsea Market agreements — while the City Council claimed the community benefits secured in exchange for the approval of this massive development would be permanent, our investigation has found that there is no such legal requirement attached to them, allowing the developer to keep all of their benefits without having to provide the promised public amenities in return.